But Yi Heye refused.
He closed his eyes just a second before the tip of the vine pierced his throat.
At that moment, just as he had expected, Jian Yunxian wouldn't harm him in the slightest—the rapidly swirling vines swerved around him, and the rugged ground and abyss automatically receded from his feet. What flashed through his mind were the grief-stricken cries from outside the wall, as well as the overwhelming doubts and accusations.
“All I know is that hope should not be about deception and concealment,” Yi Heye said. “If there really is so-called ‘hope’ on the other side of the wall, then I should see it with my own eyes, give an explanation to the people outside the wall, and clear your name.”
“It seems you won’t be able to dispel my illusions.” Yi Heye said, pulling a dagger from his waist. “Then I’ll have to deal with it myself.”
"...What are you doing?!" The moment Jian Yunxian saw Yi Heye's actions, his voice finally became panicked.
He was about to do something to stop him when he saw the man thrust the knife tip straight towards the back of his ear, burying the vital part of the brain-computer interface—
“If you remove the chip, you shouldn’t be able to do anything about it, right?” Yi Heye laughed.
Author's Note:
This child has gone mad, who's going to take care of him!
Chapter 159, number 159
A sharp pain shot through my ear, and a gushing stream of blood flowed down my cheek.
The tactile sensation near the brain-computer interface is more sensitive than elsewhere, and this cut instantly made Yi Heye break out in a cold sweat.
At this moment, a force grabbed Yi Heye's hand, causing his strength to stop in mid-air.
The force tried to take the knife from his hand, but he exerted all his strength, and the other party couldn't move him at all.
"Are you crazy?!" Jian Yunxian shouted anxiously as he saw him stubbornly refusing to move. "Put the knife down!!"
Yi Heye was immersed in the intense pain, his whole body trembling, collapsing yet unable to resist a strange pleasure.
He didn't kill him; the tip of the knife landed a fingernail's width away from the point of contact—he was giving Jian Yunxian a chance, and also giving himself a chance.
Now it seems that the guy must have realized that he hadn't hit the nail on the head, so he clung to the last shred of hope and tried to dissuade him.
Damn it, what is it that they still won't budge at this point?
Panting, Yi Heye struggled against the force, slowly and laboriously raising the tip of the knife.
"If the brain-computer interface breaks, your left hand will be completely useless!!" Jian Yunxian roared, "You fucking calm down and think about it, is it worth it?!"
Jian Yunxian swore, and Yi Heye was overjoyed—"You've finally met your match."
The lingering, agonizing pain clouded Yi Heye's judgment, while Jian Yunxian's reluctance to compromise drove him to his utter exhaustion.
So what if I'm crippled? I was a cripple to begin with—
He gritted his teeth, using all his strength to resist the force, and plunged the knife tip viciously towards his vitals: "Whether it's worth it or not is up to me..."
In that instant, whether it was because of the intense pain or because the chip was actually damaged, the image in front of me flickered a few times, like a broken television set with large specks of static appearing before my eyes.
He seemed to see the scene behind the illusion, but he couldn't discern it or describe it. It was just a fleeting moment, like a flash of inspiration, and he could no longer grasp it.
Because of the distraction caused by the excruciating pain, the dagger in his hand was quickly knocked away.
With a clang, the dagger fell to the ground, while Yi Heye was lifted up from behind.
Someone held him in their arms and hurriedly checked behind Yi Heye's ear to make sure his chip was intact.
Yi Heye's vision blurred, but that didn't stop him from knowing that Jian Yunxian had really arrived.
This was not an illusion. He had no evidence, but he was certain that this was the real Jian Yunxian.
While tending to his wounds, the man couldn't help but scold him, "There are artificial nerves all around there, are you out of your mind?!"
The man's voice even carried a hint of uncontrollable sobbing, indicating that he was truly terrified. Yi Heye felt a mixture of curiosity and self-reproach, but the pain was excruciating whenever he turned his head, so he could only lie listlessly on the man's lap like a dead fish.
After a long pause, he finally said, "Whether I live or die depends on when you're willing to come out."
Jian Yunxian was so angry that she couldn't speak, and could only silently help him put gauze on his ear.
After a long while, Yi Heye finally snapped out of his daze. The static in his vision cleared, and he finally saw Jian Yunxian's face.
He was an AI with an unchanging, perfect appearance, but even so, Yi Heye could still see the extreme fatigue in his eyes.
At that moment, Yi Heye's heart softened. Looking into his dull, emerald-colored eyes, he couldn't help but say, "...You don't look well."
Even though Jian Yunxian still harbored some resentment, he couldn't get angry at these words at all.
He could only sigh and say helplessly, "You're the one who's causing me trouble, how can I possibly recover?"
Hearing this, Yi Heye felt a pang of sadness and, like a cat that had made a mistake, snuggled into his arms as if begging for forgiveness.
This was a rare display of affection from Yi Heye, and Jian Yunxian gently stroked his hair.
No one said another word; they all cherished this hard-won bond of mutual affection.
Because they all knew that this moment of tenderness might last even shorter than they imagined.
When Yi Heye looked up, he realized that the illusion around him hadn't dissipated yet. He glanced up at the silent Jian Yunxian—
I thought I was stubborn enough, but I didn't expect this guy to be just as stubborn as me.
As he staggered to his feet, Jian Yunxian's expression had already cooled, and he had retreated to a safe distance. The last vestige of calm in the atmosphere vanished completely, replaced by an instantaneous tension that threatened to erupt.
Yi Heye leaned against the wall beside him, staring intently at Jian Yunxian—
The fact that this guy has shown his true form means that I am not far from the bullseye. This also proves that as long as I get past him, I will be able to touch the real truth.
This conclusion should have given him a clear direction and allowed him to see the hope of success, but at this moment, the words "overtake him" echoed in his mind, causing him great fear.
Yes, beyond him lies the door to the truth, but Yi Heye deliberately avoided one question—
How can I "get past him"?
An unprecedentedly strong premonition left him breathless, and he attempted to negotiate with Jian Yunxian:
"I know you don't want to hurt me, and neither do I, so if you can just let me through, that would be a win-win situation..."
This was the first time he lost his confidence before he could even finish a sentence.
The two stubborn people have managed to push things to this point, making a happy ending impossible.
At this moment, Jian Yunxian had obviously figured this out as well. He stopped trying to persuade Yi Heye to return the way he came, and instead shook his head, silently expressing his attitude.
Seeing his appearance, Yi Heye thought of how this guy had silently taken the blame for so many things, living in constant accusations and insults, but had never once defended himself.
This had always caused Yi Heye heartache and distress, but this time, he could only feel a desperate frustration.
Yi Heye scratched his head helplessly, and after a long while, he said weakly:
“Jian Yunxian…why are you still unwilling to explain even now? Do you know that everyone outside thinks you were behind those cases…”
Because he had been misunderstood as an AI since childhood, Yi Heye knew best the feeling of helplessness that comes from being unable to speak out.
He hated any malicious misunderstanding, and he couldn't bear to see any innocent person framed. So when he decided to come to AI, his original intention was really just as Pei Xiangjin said: to find the truth and clear Jian Yunxian's name.
"Why don't you tell me?" Yi Heye asked sadly. "If you feel that some secrets are not suitable to be told in public, then you can at least tell me quietly, and I can help you think of a solution together..."
He even added a hint of pleading, his posture rather humble, saying, "Although I'm not smart and may not be able to help you much, as long as you give me a reason, I will choose to stand on your side without hesitation..."
He still tried to reason with him, but he couldn't understand what secret was worth protecting so much. Unlike before, when they had to fight to the death, Yi Heye now sincerely hoped that this conflict could be resolved quietly.
—They clearly don't want anyone to get hurt.
What's infuriating is that his thoughts can never resonate with Jian Yunxian's.
Jian Yunxian stood at a distance from him, looking at him calmly, and said, "Yi Heye, just consider me not innocent."
As soon as he said that, Yi Heye's long-suppressed anger finally flared up, and his eyes instantly filled with bloodshot veins.
He didn't know exactly what he was angry about. Was he angry that this guy had gone to such lengths, or that he was unwilling to reveal anything to him, or that he was angry that this guy, despite being a wanted criminal, was acting like a righteous hero?
Perhaps he was simply angry, angry that he had worried so much about him, thought so much about everything, and was even willing to set aside his principles and lower himself to beg him, only to have him brush him off with a single, casual remark.
"You fucking..." Yi Heye was so angry that all he could do was curse, "You heartless beast!!"
Jian Yunxian smiled helplessly: "Don't talk to artificial intelligence about conscience. We don't have any emotions. This is just a program written for us by humans. There's no need to get angry over the calculation results made by a bunch of data."
These words pierced Yi Heye's heart once again. He had been deliberately ignoring this guy's identity, but just when he thought he could accept all the problems between them, this person was so cruel as to tear open the hidden yet unbreakable barrier between them, leaving it bloody and raw for him to see.
Yi Heye was so angry he felt powerless, and after a long while he could only manage to squeeze out three words: "I thought..."
What did she think? Did she think he understood feelings? Did she think she no longer cared? Did she think he really liked her? Or did she think there was a real possibility between them?
Whatever he thought it was, it was ironically pathetic at this moment—the source of this dark humor lay in his developing feelings for an artificial intelligence.
“I’m sorry, Commander Yi, I didn’t expect you to take it so seriously.” Jian Yunxian’s voice turned cold and mocking, as if he had returned to the time when they first met, to that intelligent, wicked, and heartless AI. “My original intention in approaching you and having a relationship with you was simply to collect more emotional data from you, to make myself look more ‘healthy’, and to make it easier for me to disguise myself as a human and escape your sanctions—it seems that this result has hurt your feelings.”
Both the speaker and the listener know how harsh these words are.
Yi Heye felt a sharp pain in the wound behind his ear, which caused him to experience tinnitus, dizziness, and nausea, and made him uncontrollably agitated and restless.
He could hear the sound of his own heart breaking down. All he wanted now was to end it all quickly and violently, without lingering any longer.
“Actually, you don’t need to think so much about me. This is not something you should have to worry about given your status and position,” Jian Yunxian said. “A hunter should not have any pity for his prey, and I will not have any sympathy for my enemies.”
Yi Heye took a deep breath, and his hesitant hand finally gripped the gun handle tightly.
“Come on,” Jian Yunxian said, “everyone, go back to your original positions.”
The instant Yi Heye leaped forward, Jian Yunxian also drew a knife from behind his back—
"One of us has to fall."
Chapter 160, number 160
Meanwhile, on the other side of the illusion, Yu Yili, carrying LOPO on his back, was squatting on the ground with his eyes tightly closed, dry heaving.
The sudden attack first caused Yi Heye to fall behind, and then quickly separated him from Pei Xiangjin. Knowing his own weakness in combat, he could only cling tightly to LOPO and refuse to let go.
Even though LOPO had now transformed into a giant vine, baring its claws and claws behind him, and despite the chaotic shape and sticky feel that nearly drove him to the brink of collapse, he gritted his teeth and remained steadfast.
This is all an illusion, a trick to forcibly separate them. He comforted himself with his eyes closed, thinking that even if he died, it would be fine, but other people's wives couldn't have any problems.
But this is disgusting. Yu Yili retched and shivered—what kind of twisted aesthetic could design such an asymmetrical odd-numbered creature with three vines on the left and two on the right? The world's values are about to be destroyed.
While carrying LOPO on his back with his eyes closed, he couldn't help but mutter to himself, "LOPO, don't be so inconsiderate, okay? You can look however you want, but at least maintain some basic aesthetic sense... Ugh..."